Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Bad River Lapointe Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Historic photo of Ojibwe at Bad River
Total population
7,000 (2000)
Regions with significant populations
United States ( Wisconsin)
Languages
English, Ojibwe
Religion
Catholicism, Methodism, Midewiwin
Related ethnic groups
other Ojibwe people, Odawa and Potwatomi

The Bad River Lapointe Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians are a federally recognized tribe of Ojibwe people. The Bad River Reservation is located on the south shore of Lake Superior and has a land area of 156,000 acres (244 sq mi; 630 km²) in northern Wisconsin straddling Ashland and Iron counties. The tribe has approximately 7,000 members, of whom about 1,800 lived on the reservation during the 2000 census.

Most people live in one of four communities: Odanah, Diaperville (also called Old Odanah),Birch Hill, or Frank's Field/Aspen Estates. Odanah, the administrative and cultural center, is located five miles (8.0 km) east of the town of Ashland on U.S. Highway 2. New Odanah is also located on the reservation. Over 90% of the reservation is undeveloped land.

According to Anishinaabe prophecy, Gichi Manidoo, the Great Spirit, told the Anishinaabe people to move west from the Atlantic coast until they found the "food that grows on water." After a series of stops and divisions, the branch of Anishinaabe known as the Lake Superior Chippewa found wild rice near the Chequamegon Bay on the south shore of Lake Superior, at the site of the present-day Bad River Lapointe Reservation. They made their final stopping place at nearby Madeline Island.